Organic electroluminescence illuminating device and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

An organic electroluminescence illuminating device (L) has a structure in which an organic electroluminescence element ( 10 ) is provided and encapsulated between a pair of substrates ( 20, 21 ). A light emitting surface of the organic electroluminescence element ( 10 ) has a portion which is not parallel to a light extraction surface of the entire illuminating device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to organic electroluminescenceilluminating devices and method for manufacturing the organicelectroluminescence illuminating devices.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, these electronic devices made of organic materials havebeen actively studied. These electronic devices (organic electronicdevices) can be mounted on flexible and large-area substrates and can bemanufactured in a low-temperature process at low cost, for example.These advantages over conventional electronic devices made of inorganicmaterials are expected to realize, for example, practical flexibledisplays etc.

Examples of the organic electronic device includes organicelectroluminescent (hereinafter referred to as “organic EL”) device,organic photovoltaic cells, and organic field-effect transistors(organic FETs), etc.

The organic EL device includes an organic EL element in which an organiclayer containing a luminescent material is interposed between a pair ofelectrodes. The organic EL element has characteristics, such as lowvoltage drive, high luminance, light emission capability, etc., andtherefore, can have a smaller thickness and a lower weight. The organicEL device can be used in light source applications for opticalcommunication and illumination applications in addition to displayapplications. For example, an organic EL illuminating device has manyadvantages, such as surface emission, smaller thickness, ease of dimmingcontrol, free of materials, such as mercury etc., which put a high loadon the environment, etc.

Incidentally, when the organic EL device is used in illuminationapplications and optical communication applications, a higher emissionluminance is required than in display applications. However, if a drivecurrent is increased to enhance the luminance of the organic EL device,the organic EL element is more easily degraded, leading to a shorterlifetime of a device including the organic EL element.

For example, PATENT DOCUMENT 1 describes an organic EL illuminatingdevice which includes an organic EL element including a large number oflight emitting units having an emission area of 0.2 mm² or less arrangedin a matrix, and can emit light with high luminance and highilluminance.

PATENT DOCUMENT 2 describes an EL illuminating device including a lenssheet having a minute uneven structure (including protruding portionsand recessed portions) formed in a surface thereof. The lens sheet isprovided on a side of an EL element from which light is emitted, tochange the direction of emitted light. As a result, the luminance in thefront direction can be enhanced and the lifetime of the EL element canbe increased.

CITATION LIST Patent Document

-   PATENT DOCUMENT 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-171993-   PATENT DOCUMENT 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-32528

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

An object of the present invention is to provide an organic ELilluminating device which can emit light with excellent emissionluminance over a long period of time.

Solution to the Problem

An organic electroluminescence illuminating device according to thepresent invention has a structure in which an organicelectroluminescence element is interposed between a pair of substratesfacing each other. A light emitting surface of the organicelectroluminescence element has a portion which is not parallel to alight extraction surface of the entire illuminating device.

With this configuration, the light emitting surface of the organicelectroluminescence element has a portion which is not parallel to thelight extraction surface of the entire illuminating device. Therefore,in a region where the corresponding light emitting surface and lightextraction surface are not parallel to each other, light from the lightemitting surface having a predetermined area is extracted from the lightextraction surface having a smaller area than when the correspondinglight emitting surface and light extraction surface are parallel to eachother, resulting in a higher density of the amount of emitted light. Inother words, the light emitting surface is not parallel to the lightextraction surface of the entire illuminating device, resulting inexcellent emission luminance.

In the organic electroluminescence illuminating device of the presentinvention, the light emitting surface of the organic electroluminescenceelement may be a curved surface.

The light emitting surface of the organic electroluminescence elementmay be a planar surface, and may be sloped relative to the lightextraction surface of the illuminating device.

In the organic electroluminescence illuminating device of the presentinvention, the organic electroluminescence element is preferably made ofa flexible material.

In the organic electroluminescence illuminating device of the presentinvention, at least one of the pair of substrates may be made of anoptically transparent material.

In the organic electroluminescence illuminating device of the presentinvention, a space formed between the pair of substrates may be filledwith a heat dissipating resin having a higher heat conductivity thanthat of the air.

With this configuration, the space formed between the pair of substratesis filled with the heat dissipating resin, and therefore, heat generatedduring light emission in the organic electroluminescence element can beefficiently transferred to the outside. Therefore, the heat during lightemission more easily escapes to the outside, whereby accumulation ofheat in the organic electroluminescence element which causes damage tothe organic layer can be reduced or prevented.

In a method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescenceilluminating device of the present invention, the organicelectroluminescence element includes a first electrode, an organicelectroluminescence layer, and a second electrode, which aresuccessively stacked on a support base member, and steps of forming thefirst electrode, the organic layer, and the second electrode areperformed on the support base member which is conveyed in roll-to-rollprocessing.

With this method, the electrodes and the organic layer can becontinuously formed in a single formation chamber, resulting in asimpler manufacturing process and a smaller manufacturing apparatus.

Advantages of the Invention

According to the present invention, the light emitting surface of theorganic electroluminescence element has a portion which is not parallelto the light extraction surface of the entire illuminating device.Therefore, in a region where the corresponding light emitting surfaceand light extraction surface are not parallel to each other, light fromthe light emitting surface having a predetermined area is extracted fromthe light extraction surface having a smaller area than when thecorresponding light emitting surface and light extraction surface areparallel to each other, resulting in a higher density of the amount ofemitted light. In other words, the light emitting surface is notparallel to the light extraction surface of the entire illuminatingdevice, resulting in excellent emission luminance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an organic EL illuminating device according toa first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in a width direction of the organic ELelement.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in a length direction of the organic ELelement.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the organic EL illuminatingdevice.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a manufacturing process of theorganic EL element.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an organic EL illuminating deviceaccording to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an organic EL illuminating deviceaccording to a third embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

<Organic EL Device>

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an organic EL illuminating device according to afirst embodiment. For example, the organic EL illuminating device L isused to illuminate a room or serve as a backlight for a liquid crystaldisplay device.

In the organic EL illuminating device L, a first substrate 20 and asecond substrate 21 are arranged to face each other, and an organic ELelement 10 is interposed therebetween.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the organic EL element 10. The organic EL element 10includes a first electrode 12, an organic EL layer 13, and a secondelectrode 14, which are stacked on a support base member 11 and arecovered with a protection film 15.

The support base member 11 includes a plastic film made of, for example,a styrene resin, an acrylic resin, polyethylene telephthalate (PET),polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), or polybutylene telephthalate (PBT),etc. The support base member 11 is in the shape of, for example, a tapehaving a width of about 1 cm, a length of about 15 cm, and a thicknessof about 0.2 mm. The support base member 11 is preferably made of aflexible material whose shape can be changed, depending on a shape of anobject to be fixed thereto. As a result, the organic EL element 10 isfixed and attached to even an object having a curved surface.

The first electrode 12 and the second electrode 14 may be an anode and acathode, respectively, or vice versa. While holes are injected from theanode into the organic EL layer 13, electrons are injected from thecathode into the organic EL layer 13.

The anode is preferably made of a material having a high work functionin order to enhance the efficiency of injecting holes into the organicEL layer 13. For example, the anode is preferably a transparentelectrode made of a metal (e.g., Au, Ag, etc.) or ITO, etc.

The cathode is preferably made of a material having a low work functionin order to enhance the efficiency of injecting electrons into theorganic EL layer 13. The cathode may be formed of, for example: amultilayer structure of a metal having a low work function and a stablemetal, such as Ca/Al, Ce/Al, etc.; an alloy, such as Ca:Al alloy, Mg:Agalloy, etc.; or a multilayer structure of a thin insulating film and ametal electrode, such as LiF/Al etc.

For example, when the first electrode 12 is the anode and the secondelectrode 14 is the cathode, a reinforcement electrode made of, forexample, an aluminum film may be provided at an end portion of a patternin which the first electrode 12 is formed. The reinforcement electrodehas a thickness of, for example, about 100 nm. The reinforcementelectrode can reduce a voltage drop caused by the resistance of theelectrode, whereby emission unevenness can be reduced or eliminated.

The organic EL layer 13 includes at least an emitting layer. The organicEL layer 13 may have a three-layer structure in which a hole transportlayer, the emitting layer, and an electron transport layer are stackedtogether, or a five-layer structure in which a hole injection layer, ahole transport layer, the emitting layer, an electron transport layer,and an electron injection layer are stacked together, or a six-layerstructure in which a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, anelectron blocking layer, the emitting layer, a hole blocking layer, andan electron injection layer are stacked together.

The hole injection layer and the hole transport layer have a function ofefficiently injecting and transporting holes received from the anode tothe emitting layer. Examples of a material for hole injection andtransportation include aromatic tertiary amines, such as4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphtyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (α-NPD),N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (NPD), etc.,represented by:

The hole injection layer and the hole transport layer have a thicknessof, for example, about 30 nm and about 20 nm, respectively.

An electron blocking material for the electron blocking layer may besimilar to the hole injection material. The electron blocking layer hasa thickness of, for example, about 10 nm.

The emitting layer is made of a luminescent material doped with adopant. Examples of the luminescent material include carbazolederivatives (e.g., 4,4′-bis(carbazole-9-yl)-biphenyl (CBP) etc.),triazole derivatives (e.g., 2,4-triazole etc.), etc., represented by:

Examples of the dopant include (2-phenylpyridine)iridium (Ir(ppy)₃)(green dopant) represented by:

iridium(III)bis(4′,6′-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C2]picolinate(FIr(pic)) (blue dopant) represented by:

bis(2-(2′-benzo[4,5-a]thienyl)-pyridinato-N,C3′)iridium(acetylacetonate)((Btp)₂Ir(acac)) (red dopant) represented by:

These dopants are injected in an amount of, for example, about 6 mass %relative to the luminescent material. The emitting layer has a thicknessof, for example, about 30 nm.

Note that a green emitting layer, a blue emitting layer, and a redemitting layer doped with a green dopant, a blue dopant, and a reddopant, respectively, may be stacked together, whereby white light isobtained by mixing green, blue, and red light.

The hole blocking layer has a function of blocking holes from moving tothe cathode. An example of the hole blocking material is2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) represented by:

The hole blocking layer has a thickness of, for example, about 10 nm

The electron injection layer and the electron transport layer have afunction of efficiently injecting and transporting electrons receivedfrom the cathode to the emitting layer. An example of a material forelectron injection and transportation is tris(8-quinolinyloxy) aluminum(Alq3) represented by:

The electron transport layer and the electron injection layer have athickness of, for example, about 30 nm and about 1 nm, respectively.

A protection film 15 may be further provided to cover the secondelectrode 14, whereby external moisture etc. entering the organic ELlayer 13 can be reduced or prevented. An example of a material for theprotection film 15 is an insulating inorganic film made of SiON, SiO, orSiN, etc. The protection film 15 has a thickness of, for example, about100 nm.

The organic EL element 10 is provided in a space formed between thefirst substrate 20 and the second substrate 21, and are encapsulated bythe substrates in order to reduce or prevent damage due to externalmoisture and oxygen, etc. A plurality of the organic EL elements 10 areprovided between the pair of substrates. The number of the organic ELelements 10 provided between the pair of substrates 20 and 21 is, forexample, 2-20 (in FIG. 2, the number of the organic EL elements 10 is4). Note that only one organic EL element 10 may be provided between thepair of substrates 20 and 21.

The first substrate 20 and the second substrate 21 are each a planarplate-like transparent member including, for example, a glass substrateor a resin substrate, etc. The first substrate 20 and the secondsubstrate 21 may each have, for example, a length of about 100 mm, awidth of about 100 mm, and a thickness of about 0.7 mm Note that if oneof the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 21 through whichlight is extracted is a transparent member, the other substrate may notbe transparent and may be made of, for example, a metal material. Thefirst substrate 20 and the second substrate 21 may have a curved shapehaving a curved surface in addition to a planar plate-like shape.

The first substrate 20 has a raised portion(s) 20 a on a surface thereofon which the organic EL element 10 is attached. The organic EL element10 is attached to the raised portion 20 a. As shown in FIG. 2, theraised portion 20 a has an arc-shaped cross-section. The raised portion20 a has a height of, for example, 3-10 mm. The raised portion 20 a isintegrally formed with the first substrate 20. In this case, because thesupport base member 11 of the organic EL element 10 is made of aflexible material, the organic EL element 10 can be attached to theraised portion 20 a while fitting a shape of the raised portion 20 a,i.e., a light emitting surface of the organic EL element 10 is curved,extending along the shape of the raised portion 20 a. Note that aseparate member which serves as the raised portion 20 a may be attachedto the planar plate-like first substrate 20.

An extraction electrode is provided on a surface of the first substrate20 on which the organic EL element 10 is attached. The first electrode12 of the organic EL element 10 is electrically connected to theextraction electrode.

The first and second substrates 20 and 21 are arranged to face eachother and sandwich the organic EL element 10. The first and secondsubstrates 20 and 21 are sealed using a UV curable resin etc. toencapsulate the organic EL element 10. A space formed by the first andsecond substrates 20 and 21 is adjusted to an inert gas atmosphere(e.g., nitrogen, argon, etc.) or a vacuum atmosphere, whereby damage tothe organic EL element 10 due to moisture or oxygen is reduced orprevented. The space formed by the first and second substrates 20 and 21may additionally contain, for example, a moisture absorbent, such asbarium oxide etc.

The organic EL elements 10 are spaced apart from each other and arrangedside by side in the width direction. A space between each organic ELelement 10 is, for example, about 5 mm.

The anodes of the organic EL elements 10 may be connected together andthe cathodes of the organic EL elements 10 may be connected together. Inthis case, each organic EL element 10 can be easily connected to anexternal power supply.

In the organic EL illuminating device 10 thus configured, when a voltageis applied between the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 14,holes are injected into the emitting layer from the anode one of thefirst electrode 12 and the second electrode 14 and electrons areinjected into the emitting layer from the cathode one of the firstelectrode 12 and the second electrode 14. The hole and the electron arerecombined in the emitting layer to emit energy, which in turn excitesthe luminescent material of the emitting layer. When the excitedluminescent material returns from the excited state to the ground state,fluorescent light or phosphorescent light is released and emitted to theoutside.

In the organic EL illuminating device L of this embodiment, the raisedportion 20 a is formed on the surface of the first substrate 20, andtherefore, when the organic EL element 10 is attached to the raisedportion 20 a, the light extraction surface of the entire illuminatingdevice and the light emitting surface of the organic EL element 10 arenot parallel to each other in a region where a surface of the raisedportion 20 a is sloped relative to the body of the first substrate 20.In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the area (A1) of the light emittingsurface is larger than the area (A2) of the light extraction surface,and therefore, the density of the amount of emitted light is higher thanwhen the area of the light emitting surface is equal to the area of thelight extraction surface. Therefore, the configuration of thisembodiment can provide excellent emission luminance.

<Method for Manufacturing Organic EL Illuminating Device>

Next, a method for manufacturing the organic EL device L will bedescribed.

Initially, a film tape which will be used as the support base member 11of the organic EL element 10 is prepared. The film tape has, forexample, a width of about 10 mm and a length of about 10 m. The filmtape will be cut into pieces each having a length of, for example, 15cm, which is a size of the organic EL element 10. Note that a series ofmanufacturing steps described below are performed in an inert gasatmosphere (e.g., nitrogen, argon, etc.) in a glovebox etc.

Next, the support base member 11 is attached to a roll-to-roll vapordeposition device 60 shown in FIG. 6. The roll-to-roll vapor depositiondevice 60 includes, between two rolls R for winding the film tape, acleaning section 61, a first electrode formation section 62, an etchingsection 63, an organic layer formation section 64, an etching section65, a second electrode formation section 66, an etching section 67, aprotection film formation section 68, and an etching section 69. Theformation sections 62, 64, 66, and 68 are each means for forming a layerby vapor deposition.

Initially, the cleaning section 61 performs microwave plasma drycleaning on a surface of the film tape.

Next, the first electrode formation section 62 forms, for example, anITO film on an entire surface of the support base member 11. Thereafter,the etching section 63 etches the ITO film to form the first electrode12. In this case, for example, the etching is performed so that thefirst electrode 12 has a rectangular pattern shape having a width whichis equal to the width of the film tape and a predetermined length in thelength direction of the film tape.

Next, the organic layer formation section 64 forms the organic layer 13on an entire surface of the first electrode 12. Thereafter, the etchingsection 65 performs patterning on the organic layer 13.

Next, the second electrode formation section 66 forms the secondelectrode 14 on an entire surface of the organic layer 13. Thereafter,the etching section 67 performs patterning on the second electrode 14.

Moreover, the protection film formation section 68 forms a protectionfilm 15 made of, for example, SiO₂, to cover the second electrode 14.Thereafter, the etching section 69 performs patterning on the protectionfilm 15.

The film tape on which the first electrode 12, the organic EL layer 13,the second electrode 14, and the protection film 15 have been thusformed is wound around a roll R. Thereafter, the film tape is cut intopieces each having a predetermined length, where each piece is theorganic EL element 10.

Next, the fabricated organic EL elements 10 are tested using a knowntechnique. Thereafter, a defective product(s) is removed, andnon-defective organic EL elements 10 are fixed to the first substrate 20using a transparent thermosetting resin etc., and the organic ELelements 10 are electrically connected to the extraction terminal of thefirst substrate 20.

In this case, the organic EL element 10 is arranged on the raisedportion 20 a of the first substrate 20. The support base member 11 ofthe organic EL element 10 is made of a flexible material, and therefore,the organic EL element 10 can be attached to the raised portion 20 awhile fitting the shape of the raised portion 20 a. When a plurality ofthe organic EL elements 10 are provided, the adjacent organic ELelements 10 may be spaced apart from each other. In this case, a spacebetween the adjacent organic EL elements 10 is, for example, about 1-5mm.

After the organic EL elements 10 are fixed onto the first substrate 20,the second substrate 21 is stacked on the first substrate 20 to coverthe organic EL element 10, and the resultant structure is sealed using aUV curable resin etc. Thus, the organic EL device L of this embodimentcan be fabricated.

Although a roll-to-roll vapor deposition device is used to fabricate theorganic EL elements 10 in the above description, the organic EL element10 may be fabricated using, for example, a single-wafer processingdevice including separate chambers for different steps of forming theelectrodes and the organic layer instead of the roll-to-roll vapordeposition device.

Even when a roll-to-roll vapor deposition device is used to fabricatethe organic EL element 10, the electrodes and the organic layer may beformed by simultaneously performing film formation and patterning byvapor deposition using a deposition mask instead of the above method inwhich an electrode formation film or an organic layer formation film isformed on an entire surface and then is etched.

Moreover, even when a roll-to-roll vapor deposition device is used tofabricate the organic EL element 10, a film tape on which the firstelectrode 12 has been previously formed may be wound around a roll andthe roll may be set to the roll-to-roll vapor deposition device, and inthe roll-to-roll vapor deposition device, only the organic EL layer 13,the second electrode 14, and the protection film 15 may be formed.

Second Embodiment

<Organic EL Illuminating Device>

Next, an organic EL illuminating device L according to a secondembodiment will be described. FIG. 7 shows organic EL elements 10according to the second embodiment. Note that the same components asthose of the organic EL illuminating device L of the first embodimentare indicted by the same reference characters as those of the firstembodiment.

Similar to the first embodiment, the organic EL illuminating device Lhas a structure in which a first substrate 20 and a second substrate 21are arranged to face each other, and the organic EL element 10 isinterposed therebetween.

In the organic EL element 10, a first electrode 12, an organic EL layer13, and a second electrode 14 are stacked together on a support basemember 11 and are covered with a protection film 15. The organic ELelement 10 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment.

The first substrate 20 is, for example, a planar plate-like transparentmember, such as a glass substrate, a resin substrate, etc. The firstsubstrate 20 has, for example, a length of about 100 mm, a width ofabout 100 mm, and a thickness of about 0.7 mm.

A raised portion 20 a is provided on a surface of the first substrate 20on which the organic EL elements 10 are attached, and the organic ELelements 10 are attached onto the raised portions 20 a. The raisedportion 20 a has a surface sloped relative to the substrate, and azigzag edge line in a cross-section thereof. The raised portion 20 a hasa height of, for example, 3-10 mm.

The second substrate 21 is formed of, for example, a transparentmaterial (e.g., glass, resin, etc.) or a light reflective metalmaterial. The second substrate 21 is a zigzag plate extending along theraised portion 20 a of the first substrate 20. The second substrate 21has, for example, a length of about 100 mm and a width of about 100 mmas viewed from above, and a thickness of about 0.7 mm.

In the organic EL illuminating device L thus configured, the raisedportion 20 a is formed on the surface of the first substrate 20, andtherefore, when the organic EL element 10 is attached to the raisedportion 20 a, the light extraction surface of the illuminating deviceand the light emitting surface of the organic EL element 10 are notparallel to each other in a region where a surface of the raised portion20 a is sloped relative to the first substrate 20. Note that the lightextraction surface of the entire illuminating device refers to a surfaceparallel to the plate surface of the first substrate 20. In this case,the area of the light emitting surface is larger than the area of thelight extraction surface, and therefore, the density of the amount ofemitted light is higher than when the area of the light emitting surfaceis equal to the area of the light extraction surface. Therefore, theconfiguration of this embodiment can provide excellent emissionluminance.

The organic EL illuminating device L having the above configuration canbe manufactured by the same method as that of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment

<Organic EL Illuminating Device>

Next, an organic EL illuminating device L according to a thirdembodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows organic EL elements 10according to the third embodiment. Note that the same components asthose of the organic EL illuminating device L of the first embodimentare indicted by the same reference characters as those of the firstembodiment.

The organic EL illuminating device L of the third embodiment has thesame configuration as that of the second embodiment, except that a spaceformed between a pair of substrates is filled with a heat dissipatingresin 23. Note that the second substrate 21 is in the shape of a planarplate because of the filling with the heat dissipating resin 23.

The heat dissipating resin 23 is a material having a higher heatconductivity than that of the air. Examples of the heat dissipatingresin 23 include an insulating acrylic rubber, ethylene propylenerubber, etc.

The space formed between the pair of substrates may be completely orpartially filled with the heat dissipating resin 23. The density of theheat dissipating resin 23 filling the space may be arbitrary.

With this configuration, the space formed between the pair of substratesis filled with the heat dissipating resin 23, and therefore, heatgenerated during light emission in the organic EL element 10 can beefficiently transferred to the outside. Therefore, the heat during lightemission more easily escapes to the outside, whereby accumulation ofheat in the organic EL element 10 which causes damage to the organiclayer can be reduced or prevented.

The organic EL illuminating device L having the above configuration canbe manufactured by the same method as that of the first embodiment.

Other Embodiments

In the first to third embodiments, the first substrate 20 is assumed tohave a planar plate-like shape. Alternatively, for example, the firstsubstrate 20 may have a curved surface.

In the first embodiment, the organic EL illuminating device L isattached to the first substrate 20 with the support substrate thereofcontacting the first substrate 20. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4,the organic EL illuminating device L may be attached to the firstsubstrate 20 with the second electrode 14 thereof contacting the firstsubstrate 20.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is useful for organic EL illuminating devices andmethods for manufacturing the organic EL illuminating devices.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

-   L ORGANIC EL ILLUMINATING DEVICE-   10 ORGANIC EL ELEMENT-   11 SUPPORT BASE MEMBER-   12 FIRST ELECTRODE-   13 ORGANIC EL LAYER-   14 SECOND ELECTRODE-   20 FIRST SUBSTRATE (ONE OF TWO SUBSTRATES)-   21 SECOND SUBSTRATE (THE OTHER SUBSTRATE)-   23 Heat Dissipating Resin

1. An organic electroluminescence illuminating device having a structurein which an organic electroluminescence element is interposed between apair of substrates facing each other, wherein a light emitting surfaceof the organic electroluminescence element has a portion which is notparallel to a light extraction surface of the entire illuminatingdevice.
 2. The organic electroluminescence illuminating device of claim1, wherein the light emitting surface of the organic electroluminescenceelement is a curved surface.
 3. The organic electroluminescenceilluminating device of claim 1, wherein the light emitting surface ofthe organic electroluminescence element is a planar surface, and issloped relative to the light extraction surface of the illuminatingdevice.
 4. The organic electroluminescence illuminating device of claim1, wherein the organic electroluminescence element is made of a flexiblematerial.
 5. The organic electroluminescence illuminating device ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the pair of substrates is made of anoptically transparent material.
 6. The organic electroluminescenceilluminating device of claim 1, wherein a space formed between the pairof substrates is filled with a heat dissipating resin having a higherheat conductivity than that of the air.
 7. A method for manufacturingthe organic electroluminescence illuminating device of claim 1, whereinthe organic electroluminescence element includes a first electrode, anorganic electroluminescence layer, and a second electrode, which aresuccessively stacked on a support base member, and steps of forming thefirst electrode, the organic layer, and the second electrode areperformed on the support base member which is conveyed in roll-to-rollprocessing.